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Annual Report and Accounts 2024

Celebrating 30 Years

30 Years of Creativity, Innovation and Authenticity

Frontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of video games for PC and console, creating immersive and fun gameplay, with unparalleled artistic quality.

At Frontier, we specialise in creating endless possibilities in playful, fun and creative worlds. From some of the world’s biggest licensed entertainment and sporting franchises, to intricately crafted worlds where players can explore and make their mark, our games are all underpinned by our unwavering passion for creating compelling and innovative experiences that continue to inspire and delight our players.

Highlights & KPIs

FY24: Reset, Refocused and Reshaped

  • Strategic reset in H1 FY24 to focus on our core strength in creative management simulation (CMS) games.
  • Organisational Review during H2 FY24 supported our strategic reset, reshaping our teams and reducing our annual operating costs by approximately 20%.
  • Strong CMS back catalogue performance in H2 delivered FY24 revenue ahead of expectations at £89.3 million (FY23: £104.6 million).
  • These factors delivered a return to profitability in H2 on an Adjusted EBITDA** basis, before the £4.9 million gain from the sale of the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3) publishing rights.
  • Adjusted EBITDA** profit of £0.9 million for FY24, including the gain from the sale of the RCT3 publishing rights.
  • IFRS operating loss of £28.4 million (FY23: loss of £26.6 million) due to non-cash impairment charges for underperforming non-CMS games and restructuring costs.
  • The strong H2 trading performance, cost reductions, sale of the RCT3 publishing rights, and tax cash credits resulted in an increase in cash during H2 of over £12 million, to £29.5 million at 31 May 2024 (30 November 2023: £17.1 million; 31 May 2023: £28.3 million).

FY25 and Beyond: A Strong Pipeline

  • Encouraging start for FY25, through the ongoing performance of the CMS-led back catalogue.
  • F1® Manager 2024 released as planned on 23 July 2024.
  • Planet Coaster 2 was announced in July 2024 and the reaction and engagement from the Planet Coaster community and beyond has been encouraging ahead of its release in autumn 2024.
  • Development is on track for a third Jurassic World game coming in FY26, in collaboration with Universal Products & Experiences, alongside the promotional support of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s all-new film, Jurassic World Rebirth, currently scheduled for release on 2 July 2025.
  • Another currently unannounced CMS game is in development for release in FY27.
  • The Board remains confident of delivering profit in FY25 as the next step to improved financial performance and sustainable growth

* Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.
** Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment charges related to game developments and game technology, less investments in game developments and game technology, and excluding restructuring costs, share-based payment charges and other non-cash items.

Revenue (£m)

£89.3m

IFRS operating (loss)/profit (£m)

(£28.4m)

EPS (basic) (p)

(55.6p)

EBITDA (£m)

£26.8m

Adjusted EBITDA* (£m)

£0.9m

Cash Balance (£m)

£29.5m

* Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment charges related to game developments and game technology, less investments in game developments and game technology, and excluding restructuring costs, share-based payment charges and other non-cash items

Statements

The Board is confident that our refocused CMS pipeline will deliver for all our stakeholders.

The last twelve months have been one of the most difficult periods in Frontier’s 30-year history. However, following our strategy reset and organisational reshaping, I’m pleased to report that the Board is confident that we are now in an excellent position to deliver improved financial performance and sustained growth.

Ilse Howling
Chairman
PDF icon Chairmans Statement 2024.pdf (138.18 KB) (138.18 KB)
Our talented people are working together to bring our strongest-ever roadmap to life.

In the two years since I stepped up to the role of CEO, we have released multiple games, delivered engaging new content for our established franchises and kicked-off a number of exciting new game developments. During that period, player engagement with our CMS games has delivered the strongest revenue performances, as our CMS games and additional content continue to resonate and connect with both new and existing players. However, our non-CMS game launches in the period did not deliver the financial returns we had expected.

Jonny Watts
Chief Executive Officer
We are in a strong position to deliver, following our strategic reset.

FY24 was a financially challenging year, characterised by underperforming game launches in H1 that were partly offset by a strong back catalogue performance and substantial cost reductions through the H2 Organisational Review.

Alex Bevis
Chief Financial Officer

Annual Report and Accounts 2024 – Key Sections

Celebrating 30 Years

Frontier began its journey in 1994, through its founder David Braben. Co-author of the seminal game Elite, David built a team to continue creating high-quality, innovative and iconic games in the rapidly evolving games industry. Frontier has grown immensely over the subsequent three decades to build a uniquely diverse catalogue of games – enabled by our COBRA technology – that has defined genres, earned critical acclaim and won a place in the hearts of millions of players.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)
Celebrating 30 Years

An Established Genre-leading Portfolio

The most popular and strongest-performing games in our portfolio are our creative management simulation (CMS) games. We enhance our base games by delivering additional content through both free and paid downloadable content (DLC/PDLC) which helps to build compelling franchises. Loved by millions of players, they bring authentic, sophisticated simulations with endless creativity and countless possibilities.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

A Renewed Focus on the CMS Genre

Following our strategic reset in FY24, our roadmap for the next three financial years is to leverage our extensive experience to expand our portfolio within the tried and tested CMS space. We will follow our ‘Select, Develop, Launch & Nurture’ model to build on our strong portfolio of high-quality, genre-leading games which keep our players engaged over years, and sometimes decades. Our established portfolio of self-published games continues to be nurtured and supported, even as we move our future roadmap focus towards the CMS genre.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

Our Business Model

Our business model covers two main goals. Firstly, to create engaging, genre-leading interactive digital entertainment – our games. Secondly, to publish our games to our target player audiences, delivering attractive financial returns on our investments over many years. Operating successfully in this model delivers for all three of our key stakeholder groups: our players; our people; and our shareholders.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

Our Portfolio Strategy

Our strategy for long-term, sustainable success within our chosen business model incorporates four key elements: Select, Develop, Launch & Nurture.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)
Celebrating 30 Years

Rebuilding Our Engaging Culture

Everyone at Frontier is key to the Company’s success. We are aware of the pressures on our people, especially during the Organisational Review, and how the health of our Company and the wellbeing of individuals are closely tied.

We are committed to making Frontier a place where people can thrive, with a culture where we are all ambitious, collaborative, accountable and do the right thing. This means we support our people to work smarter, focusing on what matters most to improve efficiencies.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

Fostering Creativity, Adaptability and Leadership

We encourage our teams to bring creative and critical thinking to their roles, to remain adaptable and always be prepared for change and to be effective, inspirational leaders to pave the way for the next generation of leadership. Our people are critical to us achieving continued success.

After a period of change in the Organisational Review, our people strategy has been reshaped to focus on five key areas that are reflective of our current goals for the future. These have been guided by direct feedback from our employees through our annual Staff Survey, which we are pleased to say has sustained a high response rate, despite the team reshaping.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

A Sustainable, Considerate Approach

We have always endeavoured to conduct business in a considerate, responsible and ethical manner. To do this, we place our key stakeholders – our people, our players, our partners, our investors and the public – at the core of everything we do. We aim to be an industry leader for creating games which, in themselves and through the process of creating and nurturing them, resonate with the key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles of our stakeholders.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

Our Strategy Reset has Reduced our Risk Profile

Frontier has established policies and procedures to identify, evaluate and manage risks at appropriate business levels. A comprehensive risk register is maintained, covering project, operational, financial, compliance and strategic risks. The dynamic risk assessment process includes emerging and established risks, with each risk monitored and updated as necessary. A rating system assesses the likelihood and impact of risks, alongside the effectiveness of mitigating controls in place.

PDF icon Strategic Report 2024.pdf (2.97 MB)

Annual Report and Accounts 2024